The Garibaldi biscuit consists of currants squashed and baked between two thin oblongs of biscuit dough—technically called a currant sandwich. The biscuits are similar to

Eccles cake An Eccles cake is a small, round pie, similar to a turnover, filled with currants and made from flaky pastry with butter, sometimes topped with demerara sugar. The word cake has generally since narrowed in meaning to sweet, leavened baked go ...

as well as the Golden Raisin Biscuits once made by

Sunshine Biscuits Sunshine Biscuits, formerly known as The Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company, was an independent American baker of cookies, crackers, and cereals. The company, which became a brand on a few products such as Cheez-Its, was purchased by Keebler Compa ...

. Popular with British consumers as a snack for over 150 years, the Garibaldi biscuit is conventionally consumed with tea or coffee, into which it may be dunked in informal social settings. The biscuits also exist under different names in other countries, including Australia (with the name: "Full O'Fruit") and New Zealand (with the name: "Fruitli Golden Fruit").

Appearance

When bought in supermarkets in the UK (under several brands, all very similar), Garibaldi biscuits usually come in four strips of five biscuits each. They have a golden brown, glazed exterior and a moderately sweet pastry, but their defining characteristic is the layer of squashed fruit which gives rise to the colloquial names ''fly sandwiches'', ''flies' graveyards'', ''dead fly biscuits'', or ''squashed fly biscuits'', because the squashed fruit resemble squashed flies.

History

The Garibaldi biscuit was named after

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

, an Italian general and leader of the struggle to unify the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and ...

. Garibaldi made a popular visit to

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England. It is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. Historically, it was known in Roman times as Arbeia, and as Caer Urfa by Early Middle Ages. According to the ...

in England in 1854. The biscuit was first manufactured by the

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckha ...

biscuit company

Peek Freans Peek Freans is the name of a former biscuit making company based in Bermondsey, London, which is now a global brand of biscuits and related confectionery owned by various food businesses. Owned but not marketed in the UK, Europe and USA by De Be ...

in 1861 following the recruitment of Jonathan Carr, one of the great biscuit makers of

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers Eden, Caldew and Petteril. It is the administrative centre of the City ...

. In the United States, the Sunshine Biscuit Company for many years made a popular version of the Garibaldi with

raisin A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia, the word ''raisin'' is reserved for the d ...

s which it called "Golden Fruit". Sunshine was bought out by the

Keebler Company The Keebler Company is an American cookie and former cracker manufacturer. Founded in 1853, it has produced numerous baked snacks, advertised with the Keebler Elves. Keebler had marketed its brands such as Cheez-It (which have the Sunshine Bisc ...

which briefly expanded the line to include versions filled with other fruits. The entire Golden Fruit product line was discontinued when the Keebler company became a division of

Kellogg's The Kellogg Company, doing business as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States. Kellogg's produces cereal and convenience foods, including crackers and toas ...

in 2001. Varieties covered with plain or milk chocolate have also been marketed in the past, but appear not to have been available for many years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garibaldi Biscuit Giuseppe Garibaldi Biscuits 1861 introductions

Appearance

History

See also

References